Monday, April 25, 2011

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Here is today's list of food safety recalls, product withdrawals, allergy alerts and miscellaneous compliance issues. The live links will take you directly to the official recall notices and company news releases that contain detailed information for each recall and alert.

United States

Allergy/Labeling Alert:Giant Eagle recalls Market District Couscous (Best By Nov. 10) due to the presence of undeclared wheat and incorrect cooking instructions.

Food Safety Recall:Satur Farms (Cutchogue, NY) recalls Satur Farms Cilantro (1/2 lb and 1 lb bulk bags; lot #6347) after USDA detects Salmonella in a routine test sample. The recalled cilantro was distributed to six food service customers in New York City and Long Island.

Food Safety Recall:Jonathans Sprouts (Rochester, MA) recalls all conventional and organic alfalfa sprout products (all sell-by dates), because the sprout products may be contaminated with Salmonella. The recalled alfalfa sprout products were sold in A&P, Grand Union, Stop & Shop, Shaws, Hannaford, Donnelans, Foodmaster, Truccis, and Roche Brothers stores, and also were distributed in bulk to food service establishments. The products were distributed in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.

Food Safety Recall:L&M Companies, Inc. (Raleigh, NC) recalls Nature's Delight Whole Cucumbers (Lot #PL-RID-002990), after FDA finds Salmonella in a randomly selected sample of cucumbers in a cooler at Four Seasons Produce of Central Florida, Inc. The recalled cucumbers were distributed to wholesalers in New York, Florida, Illinois, Indiana and Tennessee, and also were shipped to Walmart distribution centers in Mississippi, Nebraska, Texas and Wyoming.

Outbreak Alert: Since November 2010, four residents of Dallas County (Texas) have become infected with a single strain of Salmonella after drinking unpasteurized milk. Three of the cases have been linked to a single dairy farm, where raw milk sold at the farm tested positive for the outbreak strain of Salmonella.

Canada

Allergy Alert/Illness Report: The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is warning people with allergies to peanuts not to consume Doctor’s CarbRite Diet Chocolate Brownie bars (56.7g/2.00 oz packages; UPC 0 39442 08112 4; Lot codes EXP101211, EXP040211, EXP080811, EXP080911, and EXP041012), due to the presence of undeclared peanuts. This is an expansion of an earlier recall. The recalled product was distributed across Canada. There has been one reported illness.

Allergy Alert:Quality Natural Foods recalls Haldiram's Nagpur brand Petha Cubes Indian Sweets (1Kg and 4Kg sizes; all codes and Best Before dates), due to the presence of undeclared sulphites. The recalled product was distributed nationally.

Food Safety Alert (Listowel, ON): The Food Basics store on Wallace Avenue North in Listowel was closed as a safety precaution after needles were found in fruit and meat.

Product Withdrawal:Molson Coors withdraws 1.18 Litre Molson Dry bottles with a black bottle twist cap (Production code that starts with D01), because a few of the bottles produced for the Quebec market on April 1st, 2011 may have been mislabeled and could bear a body label indicating 5.5% Alcohol instead of 10.1%. The withdrawn bottles were distributed only in Quebec.

Triad Group Product Recall Update:Triad Group-manufactured health products continue to be recalled from the Canadian market due to bacteria contamination. Affected products - some of which are co-packaged with drugs and included in medical kits - include: alcohol swabsticks, swabs, prep pads and lubricating jelly.

Food Safety Recall (Ireland):McCarren & Co. Ltd. recalls McCarren Cooked Ham (4171, Use by dates: 05/05/11; 4168, Use by dates: 28/04/11; 4163, Use by dates: 21/04/11; 4177, Use by dates: 12/05/11; 4181, Use by dates: 19/05/11; 4182, Use by dates: 21/05/11; 4159, Use by dates: 14/04/11; 4167, Use by dates: 28/04/11; 4162, Use by dates: 21/04/11; 4176, Use by dates: 12/05/11.), due to potential processing errors which may lead to microbial contamination.

Food Safety Recall (Australia):Woolworths Supermarkets Ltd. recalls Woolworths Almond Kernels (750g sealed plastic bag; Product of Australia; Best Before 10 11 11 and 11 11 11), due to the possible presence of Salmonella. The recalled products were distributed in all Woolworths, Safeway and Food For Less stores in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, West Australia, Queensland and NT.

Hospital Outbreak Alert (Australia):Launceston General Hospital has closed its orthopaedic ward and put extra infection control measures in place following an outbreak of viral gastroenteritis that has affected four nurses and up to six patients. Visitors are being urged to stay away until the outbreak is over.

Water Health Alert (West Australia): The Department of Health is warning people to avoid contact with a blue-green algal bloom that has formed in the Hunter River near Bremer Bay.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Outbreak Alert (Guadalajara, Mexico): The public has been advised to avoid eating food sold by street vendors, after consumption of street food was linked to a number of cases of an aggressive form of diarrhea, according to the General Director of the Civil Hospital of Guadalajara.

Some supermarket chains post recall notices on their web sites for the convenience of customers. To see whether a recalled food was carried by your favorite supermarket, follow the live link to the supermarket's recall web site.